Author: Fiona Laing

Fiona Laing

The Northern Ireland Command Papers. A conversation with George Woodman

OfficialPapersUK

The Northern Ireland Command Papers – A conversation with George Woodman

George Woodman began working with official publications three years preceding his appointment to Stormont where he was the Librarian before retiring on 31st March 2011. His career spanning 37 years establishes him by his contemporaries as the authority on Northern Ireland official publications, and this is matched with his depth of understanding and experience of official papers emanating from the wider jurisdictions of the UK and Ireland. His papers, “A Century of Partition”, (Church of Ireland Clougher Diocesan Magazine 2021) and “Official Publications – 30 years of change”, (published in Refer Summer 2012), explain the establishment of Northern Ireland and the changes in official publishing during his career. Both provide valuable context for this piece, which focuses on the Northern Ireland Command Papers (NI Cmd. Papers). Relating to a wide range of topics, most Command Papers were…

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Fiona Laing

Independence in the Modern World, History of the Census, and Scottish Devolution: Section 30 Orders – New Official Publications 21.06.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

Westminster & the UK Government

Title page of the United Kingdom Government publication 'Gigabit-Broadband: Funding for Rural and Hard to Reach Areas'
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2022. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Gigabit-broadband: Funding for rural and hard to reach areas – “As of January 2022, 64% of UK premises had a gigabit-broadband connection available, according to the telecoms regulator, Ofcom. That’s a connection that can support download speeds of at least 1 gigabit per second.

The Government’s target is for gigabit-broadband to be available nationwide by 2030, with 85% of premises expected to be met by 2025. Nationwide coverage means “at least 99%”.

Around 20% of premises, mostly in rural areas, are estimated to require public funding to deliver gigabit-broadband. This briefing looks at current and past government funding programmes for gigabit-broadband roll-out. These programmes follow the Government’s previous publicly-funded superfast broadband programme.”

NATO enlargement: Sweden and Finland – “Sweden and Finland have applied to join NATO, ending decades…

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Fiona Laing

AI, Armed Forces Families, and Children’s health: New Official Publications 08.06.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

AI Watch, road to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence by the public sector: A handbook for policymakers, public administrations and relevant stakeholders. “This handbook is the first endeavour at the European level to outline possible avenues to promote AI in support of public services. The recommendations and the actions included in this handbook are formulated in compliance with EU values and digital principles, and intend to provide a multi-level and multidimensional actionable plan to foster citizen-centric and inclusive AI adoption and use by the public sector, as a safe, lawful and trustworthy driver to achieve common good and wellbeing in the European society at large.”

Public opinion in the European Union: First results: Latest edition. “This First Results report details the first results of the Standard Eurobarometer survey of Winter 2021-2022 in the 27 EU Member States. The survey was carried out between…

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Fiona Laing

Gender Equality, the Queen’s Speech, and Supply Chains: New Official Publications 10.05.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

Evaluation of EU support to gender equality and women’s empowerment in partner countries: Final report. Volume 1. “This final report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Evaluation of European Union (EU) Support to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) in Partner Countries, commissioned by the Evaluation Unit of the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO).”

Russia’s war on Ukraine: The situation of LGBTI people. At a glance document from the European Parliament’s Think Tank.

Measuring universality in social protection: A pilot study on unemployment benefits. “The purpose of this report is to analyse the degree of universality of unemployment benefits across EU Member States.”

Westminster & the UK Government

© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2022. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Queen’s Speech Research Briefing. “This Library briefing identifies issues and…

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Fiona Laing

Channel 4, Future Shocks 2022, and Russia’s War on Ukraine – NATO Response : New Official Publications 26.04.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

Westminster & the UK Government

Image of the title page of the Distance Selling United Kingdom Government official publication
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2022. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Distance selling: sale of goods, digital content & services online, by phone, off-business premises etc – “Many people shop at a distance. They may order goods, digital content, and services over the internet, by mail order, by telephone, by digital television or even by fax…

In the UK, distance selling transactions are covered by normal buying and selling legislation, predominantly the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008 No. 1277). Importantly, consumers are given additional rights by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013 No.3134), known as the “Consumer Contracts Regulations”. The Regulations came into force on 13 June 2014, replacing the “Distance Selling Regulations” (the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000 No.2334)).”

The future…

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Fiona Laing

Multilingualism, Ukraine, and National Planning: New Official Publications 13.04.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

Multilingualism: The language of the European Union. A briefing on the languages of the European Union, data on language usage, and the practicalities of providing multilingualism in the European Parliament, for example, translation services and costs.

Short-term rentals in the EU: Report. “A Flash Eurobarometer survey about short-term rentals in the EU, booked via platforms. A representative sample of citizens, aged 15 and over, was interviewed in each of the 27 Member States of the European Union.”

The digital euro: Policy implications and perspectives : executive summary. “The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to launch a two-year investigation phase of a possible digital euro. This announcement has raised many expectations and also many questions. What would be the purpose of a digital euro? How would it work? What would be the consequences for European citizens? Would it disrupt the activities of banks?…

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Fiona Laing

Dandy Booksellers/ONS titles

Reposted from OfficialPapersUK

From January 2022 Dandy Booksellers have taken over publishing the following Office for National Statistics titles from Springer :

Financial Statistics

Monthly Digest of Statistics

Economic & Labour Market Review

For information about subscriptions and costs, please see : https://www.dandybooksellers.com/acatalog/ONS-Subscriptions.html

For other ONS titles available from Dandy Booksellers please see: https://www.dandybooksellers.com/acatalog/Office_for_National_Statistics_ONS.html

Fiona Laing

War in Ukraine: Parliamentary and UK Government resources

Reposted from OfficialPapersUK

This is not a comprehensive list of resources but it will give you an idea of the breadth of what is available.

UK Parliament Committees

House of Commons and Lords Libraries

Hansard – debates

GOV.UK

Broadcasts

Twitter

@UKParliament

@HouseofCommons

@UKHouseofLords

Hannah Chandler, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford

Fiona Laing

University Strikes, Regulating Facial Recognition, and UK Trade with Russia: New Official Publications 22.03.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

Westminster & the UK Government

Image of title page of the University Strikes FAQ publication
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

University Strikes FAQs – “Between 2018 and 2020, the University and College Union (UCU) coordinated a series of strikes across UK universities. Further industrial action was curtailed by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic from March 2020.

The UCU once again balloted its members between October and November 2021 for industrial action. Three days of strike action involving 58 universities followed in December 2021. A re-ballot led to 68 universities striking for ten days between 14 February and 2 March 2022.”

Universities Superannuation Scheme – “University and College Union (UCU) members have taken strike action opposing cuts to pensions in the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) taking place in April 2022. This briefing looks at the changes made to the scheme and its valuations.”

Sanctions against Russia – “In response to Russian military action…

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Fiona Laing

Ukraine, Voter ID, and Health Inequalities : New Official Publications 10.03.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

Women working in transport. “International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022 marks an occasion to reflect on the position of women as workers in the EU transport sector.”

Identification and assessment of existing and draft EU legislation in the digital field. “This study aims to deliver to the AIDA (Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age) committee an overview of all existing and planned EU legislation in the digital field, together with an assessment of the interactions amongst these pieces of legislation. The analysis of the interplay between the legal acts, which regulate the development, placing on the market, and use of AI systems, or other AI-related aspects, has revealed intended or inadvertent regulatory gaps that should be addressed.”

European Parliament debate “The deterioration of the situation of refugees as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine” held on Tuesday 8th March…

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Fiona Laing

Regulating Online harms, European Defence and Security, and Life at Age 14: New Official Publications 21.02.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

Westminster & the UK Government

Image of the front cover of the publication titled Regulating Online Harms
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2022. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

Regulating online harms – “This Library Briefing looks at the Government’s plans to regulate harmful online content.

Harmful online content and activity includes cyberbullying, racism, misogynistic abuse, pornography, and material promoting violence and self-harm. The Covid-19 pandemic has seen groups using social media platforms to spread anti-vaccine disinformation.

Critics, including parliamentary committees, academics, and children’s charities, have argued that self-regulation by internet companies is not enough to keep users safe and that statutory regulation should be introduced.”

Ukraine: Russia’s “red line” – “Russian military forces are building on the borders of Ukraine once again. What are Russia’s intentions and how is the West responding?

In early November 2021 Russia began building up its military forces along the borders of Ukraine, for the second time in a year. Over 100,000…

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Fiona Laing

Sustainable food, Human Rights, and Energy: New Official Publications 07.02.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

Zero tolerance for female genital mutilation. “The European Union (EU) is committed to working collectively to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM), as part of broader efforts to combat all forms of violence against women and girls, and to supporting the efforts of its Member States in this field. The European Commission has undertaken to assess EU efforts to combat FGM every year, on or around 6 February – the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.”

Concepts for a sustainable EU food system: Reflections from a participatory process. “The intention of the exercise was to generate a non-binding source of collective reflections from a broad international group of people with in-depth knowledge of different aspects of the EU food system. The report includes participants’ considerations on key aspects for a transition to a sustainable EU food system and further ideas for…

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Fiona Laing

Ukraine, the Turing Scheme, and Ten Issues to Watch in 2022: New Official Publications 24.01.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

Westminster & the UK Government

Image of the title page of the Turing Scheme report
© Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2022. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

The Turing Scheme – “The Erasmus programme was launched in 1987 as an international education exchange with 11 participating member states, including the UK. It has enabled students to study in another European country – or a ‘partner country’ elsewhere in the world – by funding grants and waiving tuition fees. In 2014, the programme became Erasmus+ and expanded to include apprentices, volunteers, staff and youth exchanges, and jobseekers.

The decision to leave the European Union following the 2016 referendum did not necessarily mean the UK had to end its involvement with the Erasmus+ programme. The Government, however, said the terms for continued participation offered by the EU were not in the interests of the UK taxpayer.

On 24 December 2020, the Prime Minister announced the UK would…

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Fiona Laing

Housing, Consumer Trends, and the Space Market: New Official Publications 11.01.22

University of Glasgow Library Blog

European Union

© European Union, 2022

Space Market. “This study provides an analysis of the European space market” including space economy, space data, the EU Space Programme, and the market size and structure of the European space industry.

Study on freezing, confiscation and asset recovery: What works, what does not work : final report and country chapters. “The Study aims to assess what works and what does not work in the different phases of the asset recovery process in the Member States (including the UK). The Study also assesses how the cooperation of Member States with third countries, in particular with respect to the return of confiscated assets, could be reinforced. Moreover, it analyses the links between the EU’s sanctioning regimes under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and asset recovery.”

Maritime affairs and fisheries newsletter. Issue dated 22 December 2021 includes latest news, consultations, publications and…

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Fiona Laing

Total Digital Access Project – League of Nations

The Project team is proud to announce that, despite the recent challenges posed by COVID-19, they have reached an important milestone and have passed 10 million pages scanned, approximately two-thirds of the entire collection!

The Total Digital Access to the League of Nations Archives Project (LONTAD) will ensure state-of-the-art free online access and the digital and physical preservation of approximately 15 million pages, or almost three linear kilometers, the entirety of the archives of the League of Nations (1920-1946), the first global intergovernmental organization aiming to establish international peace and cooperation, and the predecessor of the United Nations. The LONTAD project is made possible through a generous donation of a private Swiss foundation.

Research guides relating to the League of Nations Archive are also available.